Unknown Soldier #15Review

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A murder mystery unfolds in a downtrodden refugee camp.

By Jesse Schedeen

Now that we've handed Unknown Soldier our award for best book of 2009, I suppose I should cross my fingers the series doesn't suddenly make a turn for the terrible. But not a single page of the previous 14 issues has given me any indication such a thing is possible, and so issue #15 is expectedly high quality stuff. As usual, enjoyable is the wrong word, as the subject matter is disturbing and almost sickening at times. But if "enjoyable" doesn't fit, "engrossing" certainly does.

In the previous arc, Moses escorted the former child soldier Paul to the relative safety of an Acholi village. Perhaps more importantly,Moses underwent a ritual intended to cleanse him of his many demons and exonerate him for his past acts of violence. For reasons not understood even to Moses himself, he chooses to stick around the village as the season of "hot winds" begins and the populace suffer the ramifications of stolen medicine. As tensions begin to boil over, writer Joshua Dysart has all the ingredients necessary for a real murder mystery.

It's very interesting to watch the murder mystery unfold against the all-too-real backdrop of modern Uganda. In some ways, Dysart's script is snappy and almost noir-esque enough to be qualified for a less grounded Vertigo book like 100 Bullets. But Dysart never lets readers forget what they're reading. There is plenty of suffering on hand in this issue, culminating in a particularly heart-wrenching death scene. All the while, Paul continues his evolution as a boy torn between worlds. Dysart writes a scene with the character that is fairly disturbing but also showcases as a normal teenage boy with normal teenage inclinations. Like many characters in this series, it's easy to sympathize with Paul despite the despicable acts he's committed.

Moses himself is relegated to more of a background role. His inner voices have quieted for the moment, and he seems content to allow life to unfold as it will in the village, at least for now. Even still, Dysart includes some nice character work for Moses. The narration is especially effective, framed as a letter to his wife Sara. Dysart also revisits the character of Jack in a short but very welcome flashback sequence. The plot, such as it is in this issue, is simple and slow-moving, but Dysart makes ample use of the space to build effectively on many characters simultaneously.

Alberto Ponticelli returns as artist this month. In some ways I prefer Pat Masioni's recent work on the series. Despite the fact that Masioni is a newcomer to the industry, his work was expressive and told a powerful story all its own. Ponticelli's style isn't dissimilar, but occasionally his characters can be a little flat or suffer from problematic angles perspective. Luckily, colorist Oscar Celestini does a fine job of adding depth and texture to the page. Between the two, Unknown Soldier offers a harsh, gritty, and visually distinct look at a terribly bleak way of life.